Holidays still important to Brits

According to a recent report holidays are still important to Brits despite the fact that the global credit crunch has impacted heavily on household finances. In fact, the report suggests that many people would actually rather cut back on every day goods and luxuries than have to give up their yearly holiday, even though many are suffering from really strained household finances. Read more

Tags: smoking, repercussions, food, Household, conscious travellers, holidays, arrangement fees

Weight and smoking can influence life insurance premium

People’s weight and smoking are two factors which can have a major influence over their life insurance premiums, according to insurance information advisor Life Direct.

Insurance companies tend not to consider a customer’s level of fitness by performing stamina or fitness tests, but rather they look at their height and weight and whether or not they smoke when determining the cost of life insurance.

The company will calculate a person’s body mass index, which Life Direct advises to keep below 30.

Kieran Platt, director of Life Direct, also says people should avoid smoking as this may also increase their premiums.

However, Cancer Research UK recently reported that around 12 million people aged over 16 in the UK are smokers, representing 24 per cent of the total population.

Mr Platt says: “Weight and smoking are the two major factors where you can have a great influence over your life insurance premium.”

Tags: life insurance premium, Tobacco, smoking, Tobacco smoking, director of Life Direct, major influence, uk, company

Smoking ban might help first time buyers

One unexpected group to benefit from the smoking ban might be first time home buyers, it has been suggested.

Money saved from giving up smoking might be used towards mortgage deposits, according to Abbey National.

In fact, according to the building society 43 per cent of first time buyers would give up nicotine to gain a foothold on the property ladder.

Abbey estimates that giving up smoking would save £1,288 per year, a figure which would rise to over £2,500 if a couple who smoked both gave up; mortgage broker Charcol also estimates that someone with a 25 year repayment loan could cut eight years from the total by using cigarette money to pay it back.

According to Abbey’s Nici Audhlam-Gardiner: “It really is the ideal opportunity to save up some hard cash for a first home. So, it’s time for all those first time buyers that told us they’d quit cigarettes to get on the housing ladder, to put their money where their mouth, or should I say their cigarette, is.”

The smoking ban, introduced by the government on July 1st, made virtually all public places and workplaces in the UK smoke free.

Tags: Nicotine, workplaces, giving up smoking, smoking, first time home buyers, mortgage deposits, is."The smoking ban

Smokers lose money on insurance premiums

Most smokers realize that by kicking the habit they could save a fortune each year, with many smokers spending thousands of pounds each year on cigarettes.

However, many forget that in addition to saving money on the cost of cigarettes, which can then be used for anything from luxury holidays to investments for the future, they can also save money in areas, one of which is insurance.

There are many different types of insurance cover, and the main ones on which smokers can save money include medical or health insurance cover, life insurance cover, and home insurance cover.

Smokers are classed as an increased risk when it comes to these types of insurance cover, and as a result of this increased risk most smokers pay considerably larger premiums than non-smokers, which adds to the overall cost of being a smoker.

When it comes to medical and health insurance, smokers are more likely to make a claim because of the health risks and illnesses associated with smoking, and therefore have to pay higher premiums. With life insurance, smokers are more likely to contract a terminal illness such as cancer due to smoking, and again as a result of this the cost of premiums are pushed up.

And in terms of home insurance, smokers are classed as an increased risk when it comes to fires in the home, and this also pushes up the cost of insurance premiums.

It is also thought that the number of people in the UK smoking in their homes, and therefore being classed as an increased fire risk, will increase, as the smoking ban in public places has now come into force in the UK.

Although many smokers now aim to give up altogether, which could boost their finances in many areas, many others will resort to staying in and smoking in the home rather than going out to pubs and clubs where they can no longer smoke.

Tom Smith
5th July 2007

Tags: health, more, pubs, risk, house, home, clubs, increased

Stub out the interest on your mortgage

People who smoke are prolonging how long it will take them to pay off their mortgage.

That is according to mortgage broker John Charcol which says many people could save themselves thousands of pounds by stubbing out.

With No Smoking Day (March 14th) fast approaching, the firm has highlighted the fact that someone who smokes could save £27,000 in interest by quitting.

The idea is that a former smoker uses the money he or she used to spend on tobacco and puts it towards paying their mortgage off early.

On a 25-year mortgage this will lead to savings of over £27,000 and will reduce the term of the loan by eight years.

“When smokers look at what quitting can do to their finances it may provide that added incentive to finally stub out the habit,” remarked Katie Tucker from John Charcol.

“A 20-a-day smoker can save around £1,825 a year by giving up which, in itself, is incentive enough. Yet when you look at what overpaying by this amount can do to a mortgage, it is even more of an enticement.

“Even someone with a relatively small mortgage of £100,000 will pay £27,417 less in interest,” she added.

John Charcol points out that heavier smokers have the potential to save more money, with someone on 40 cigarettes per day saving around £45,000 on a £100,000 mortgage and shaving 14 years off the loan term.

People who give up smoking not only protect their health but also see a wide range of financial benefits.

A recent report by Sainsbury’s Bank found that an ex-smoker can save up to 48 per cent on a life insurance policy.

Tags: Mortgage acceleration, business, smoking, smoking day, Katie Tucker, report

Ex-smokers see financial benefit

For many people the New Year brought with it a resolution to give up smoking.

The health benefits of kicking the habit are well known and well publicised, but Sainsbury’s Bank says few people consider the financial advantages.

Aside from saving money by not buying cigarettes, ex-smokers could find that they save as much as 48 per cent when they take out a life insurance policy.

Sainsbury’s says that in order to benefit from the reduction when taking out a policy with the bank, a customer must have remained smoke-free for a minimum 12 months.

“If you gave up smoking last New Year and haven’t yet taken out life insurance, now is the time to shop around for a good deal on a policy. If you haven’t smoked for 12 months then you will qualify as a non-smoker,” said Claire Moyles, life insurance manager at Sainsbury’s Bank.

“Our research shows that when the ban on smoking in public places is introduced into England and Wales later this year, 1.44 million people plan to give up smoking.”

Sainsbury’s has calculated that around 740,000 Britons have managed to stick to their 2006 New Year’s resolution to quit smoking.

Tags: financial benefit, gave up, smoking, customer, kicking, habit, smokers, Ethics